This team is not winning two playoff series, let alone the championship. The Philadelphia 76ers showed with their narrow victory over the Los Angeles Lakers that they are not a contender in the East, despite paying so much money on generational superstars.
If you needed any more proof that the 76ers aren’t a contender in the East, then watch that game last night.
The 76ers almost lost to a team that currently sits 13th in the West and has been a mess a season long despite having a twelve-point lead with less than two minutes to go in the 4th Quarter. In fact, if the Lakers had made one of the two free throws that Anthony Davis (31 PTS, 12 REB) and Austin Reaves (25 PTS, 2 REB, 5 AST) missed at the end of the game, LA would have walked out of Philly with an improbable comeback win.
That’s how badly the 76ers collapsed at the end of the game.
I know that all of the starting 76ers players finished the game with positive +/- ratings, but Philly’s defense needs a lot of work if they ever want to make it out of the first two rounds of the playoffs. If Joel Embiid (38 PTS, 12 REB, 5 AST) wasn’t playing in this game today, I guarantee you not a single one of the 76ers starters would have had a positive +/-.
Once again, Embiid was the sole driving force for that 76ers offense as whenever he was on the court, Philly would take the game away from the Lakers and go on 8-0 and 10-2 scoring runs. Yes, it was helpful that Anthony Davis picked up 4 fouls early on in the game, but even when the Lakers big man was on the court, Embiid was still putting up monster numbers.
It’s unfortunate that Embiid will probably never win a title with the 76ers as his surrounding cast has never been good enough to join his level. Whether it’s Ben Simmons, Markelle Fultz, or James Harden, the 76ers have constantly gotten Embiid’s supporting cast wrong.
Sure, James Harden had a good game with 28 PTS, 4 REB, and 12 AST, but he is not the MVP and NBA 75th Anniversary recipient Harden of a few years ago. Unfortunately, the man has lost that small burst of speed that made him one of the best players of all-time during his days in Oklahoma City and Houston.
Maybe when Tyrese Maxey comes back the 76ers will go on a winning streak and solidify a Top-4 finish in the East, but I don’t see them surviving a series against either the Boston Celtics or the Milwaukee Bucks. To be honest, I don’t even think they would be able to outlast the Cavs or the Hawks in a 1st Round series either.
This team just isn’t good enough outside of Embiid.
As for the Lakers, is anyone really surprised they folded once AD left the game due to his foul trouble? If this season has proven anything for the Lakers, it’s that the team is a one man show. And when that one man isn’t playing, this team is worse than useless.
Lebron James (23 PTS, 4 REB, 6 AST) is painful showing that his years of dominance are over, Russell Westbrook (12 PTS, 11 REB, 11 AST) is just a bench player at this point of his career, and the rest of the Lakers side show aren’t capable of winning a game on their own.
Aside from Austin Reaves (22 PTS, 2 REB, 5 AST) having a career game, the Lakers bench players have proven me wrong and showed that they can’t win games for LA when its superstars are either out of the game or on the sidelines.
During the Lakers winning streak a few weeks ago, the bench was coming into the game and consistently scoring, which tricked me (and many others) into thinking that they were able to supply a secondary scoring outlet. Yet, with the Lakers coming back down to Earth, these same players have fallen back into their own habits and their scoring has dried up completely.
And that’s why the Lakers will miss the playoffs this year…for a second season running.
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